I have some pictures on my web site, of some carpentry and cabinet projects I did in the pass. I did a few at home, but of most of them I did at school! I am trying to build up a portfolio, so maybe I can start a custom carpentry business. I hope to upgrade my web page building service to ad free but I need some income first.

May I suggest, instead of making the front page a ‘sign my guestbook’ – make it something that first time viewers will say “wow – I want to see more of what this guy is making!” – put some pictures on the front page of things you’ve made like the chairs, or carpentry projects you’ve built, make the viewers interested to see more, and eventually contact you for hire!

Nice start. A couple of thoughts to hopefully help.Check your services page. There are a couple of typos. (one hand typing faster than the other.. I do it all the time) Guess should be guest.

In general, tripod sites are kind of annoying with all the tripod banners. You might want to try setting one up using wordpress.com instead before you get too far along on this one.

If you are doing this to attract business, I suggest staying away from saying things like “testing the waters”. These kind of phrases don’t build confidence in you or potential clients. We’ve seen your work, you should have more confidence in yourself. ;) It is admirable to be honest and let somebody know that you think something is beyond your current skill level or abilities, but at least let them ask you first. Don’t sell yourself short right from the beginning on your home page.

Nice start Mister…Needs more pictures. You say you build custom cabinets, maybe you can do aproject for your mom or your wife and reface their kitchen cabinets, and add that to your photos.When I think cabinet maker I think kitchen or bathroom, I want to see the finish product hanging onthe wall. Or maybe you can get a paying job from freinds or other family, let them know that youneed to make some show pieces, and you might be able to save them a lot of money on customcabinets. Not many people can afford custom cabinets…it is a bragging point of any home owner!!!

Nice work, Charles. When that Morris Chair is done, it should be featured on your website. It’s an outstanding piece. I know NOTHING about web sites or marketing, but you do nice woodwork. Best of luck to you.

-- Gene 'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton

I’m on Wordpress.com and It’s easy to set up and use. It IS geared toward blogging, but will handle static pages as well. The drawbacks are that your options are somewhat limited, and advertising is very restricted. However, you can use their wordpress.org software to run your own site, which brings a ton of formatting an plugin options. However, do your homework before jumping platforms to be sure of what you want.

If you aren’t commercial yet, I recommend taking your time and not rushing into anything. You’ve got time.

Congrats on taking that first big step. Nice first stab at a web site. I would offer a few suggestions:

- have a few friends/family look it over to catch typos that you may have missed. You will miss them because you are too close to the project, but they will jump out at others.

- photos: need more, and I would also suggest taking photos of your projects with a more attractive backdrop. I love looking at people’s workbenches, but not everyone does

- I agree with the other comments that are made. You need to figure out a way to do this “ad free”. Wordpress is a good option. I use google sites and that works well too. Google sites is entirely free, no ads, and for $10/year you can buy a real domain and point it at your google site. It’s a cheap way to have a nice, legit site.

- Once you have your site setup how you like it, give some thought to how people will find it. Very rarely will someone just stumble upon your site, like it, and order something. For this type of business, a good web site is merely the extension of a good marketing plan and referral program. But, it is an important site.

- I would also setup a FaceBook fan page once you get some customer momentum going. this is a great additional way to stay in touch with customers, have them share photos, etc., and lure their friends into your business.